Fate of Joe Paterno statue at Penn State unclear

Associated PressThe Joe Paterno statue at Penn State is the subject of an increasingly bitter debate.

Update: The Associated Press reported Friday that Penn State President Rodney Erickson will make a decision about the statue next week.

The emotional and controversial debate over whether the bronze statute of Joe Paterno should remain standing could well be over. The NFL Network first reported that the statue would come down this weekend. A source told Bonnie Bernstein, formerly with CBS and ESPN, that the Board of Trustees voted on a conference call Thursday night to have the statue taken down.

Responding to those reports, PSU trustee Anthony Lubrano told the Pittsburgh Press that the board did not vote on the removal and that the final decision would be made by the administration and not by the trustees. Further, Penn State spokesman Dave La Torre said that he is "not aware of any decision being made."

The 7-foot image of Paterno raising a finger to the sky, was erected in November 2001 outside of Beaver Stadium. It has torn the fabric of State College in two.

Students clinging to the memory of a coach who led generations of young men through his program, camped out in front of the statue to protect it from vandalism. And earlier this week, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read, “Take the statue down or we will.”

They now won’t have to: The Board of Trustees, whose former chairman and current board member Steve Garban resigned Thursday night, will make sure that happens.

The sculptor, Angelo Di Maria said removing the statue now would be too hasty.

“I think we should all wait on it. Put a cover on it,” Di Maria told the Boston Herald. “Let’s see how everyone feels in six months…or a year.”

Feelings today are raw, anger and confusion about Paterno’s role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal leaving a gaping hole in the football program and the university. The independent investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh concluded that Paterno was part of a high-level cover-up to protect convicted serial child molester, Jerry Sandusky.

He was aware in 1998 that Sandusky had allegedly molested a young boy and in 2001 when confronted with similar allegations, Paterno dissuaded his superiors – athletic director Tim Curley, president Graham Spanier and vice president Gary Schultz – from reporting Sandusky to authorities. The report suggested that Paterno’s actions were motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of the football program.

Di Maria, commissioned more than a decade ago by “Friends of Joe and Sue Paterno” to build a work in Paterno’s honor, recognizes the passionate fervor surrounding the statue. Still, he said, the thoughts now should be more about the Sandusky victims than on the statue itself.

“All the focus is on the statue right now, but horrible crimes were committed,” Di Maria said. “Let’s move on away from Joe Paterno. He’s gone. He’s passed on.”